Henry Spencer waved a ten dollar bill in his son's face. "Okay Shawn. Ten whole dollars if you can guess the amount of females in this building." Henry explained. Shawn's eyes were tightly shut and he thought for a few seconds.
"There are 17 females, unless you count the baby. It's wearing pink so that's just a guess." Young Shawn told flawlessly. Henry sighed, hoping he wold miss that one. He handed Shawn the ten dollars.
"What are you going to get with it?" Henry asked.
Shawn summoned a waiter. "Two triple chocolate sundaes, please."
"Shawn, I'm not hungry for a sundae." Henry said.
"Good, 'cause you weren't getting any!" Shawn laughed.
The waiter nodded and walked away. Henry's phone rang softly. He picked it up. "Hello?" Henry answered.
"Henry Spencer? We have a case in Miami and I thought you would like to investigate. It'll be a high profile case." The Chief Detective explained. Henry's face lit up with excitement. He held up his finger and walked outside of the restaurant.
After Henry was finished talking on the phone, he walked back inside, a smile across his face. Shawn tilted his head curiously. "Guess who's going to Miami?" Henry asked.
Shawn's eyes widened. "Really? Does that mean I get to miss school?" Shawn asked excitedly. Henry chuckled.
"No, That means that you get to stay with your mom." Henry corrected. Shawn sighed.
Juliet's grandma had brought up a case to the police and there was an inspection being held in less than an hour. Frank pulled Juliet aside. "If you say anything to them, even if you do get taken away, I will find you and slit your throat. Do you understand me completely?" Frank threatened.
Juliet cringed but nodded slowly. He stood up and left to tidy the house. There was a knock at the door and Frank promptly answered. "Hello." He greeted sweetly yet falsely.
The inspector invited himself inside and took a look around. Frank followed close behind. The inspector turned to Frank, "I'm going to speak with your children first. Then, I will continue the inspection." The man said. "I was told to start with Juliet." He said. Frank called Juliet into the living room.
"H-Hi." Juliet barely said.
"Can we talk in your bedroom?" he asked. Juliet nodded and they walked into her bedroom.
"So, Juliet, my name is Mr. Hugh. I'd like to start by asking you how you got this." He began. Juliet hesitated. "It's okay. You can tell me anything." Mr. Hugh assured her.
Juliet thought about what her dad said. "I- I fell." Juliet replied shortly.
The man wrote down the notes and looked back up at Juliet. "Does your dad ever hit you? Or say mean things that hurt your feelings?" he asked.
Juliet felt her heart race. Her dad did all of those things. "No." She lied, a lump hardening in her throat. Tears made a pool in her lower eyelid but she tried to hold them back
"What's wrong?" Mr. Hugh asked.
Juliet shook her head, "I don't want to talk anymore." She crossed her arms and turned away. The man sighed and left her room. Juliet climbed onto her bed, wishing her mom was here.
After a little bit, the social worker left and made an appointment to come back another day. Frank shut the door and walked into Juliet's room. He grabbed her and sat her up on her bed. "What did you tell him?" he fumed.
"Nothing. I didn't say anything about it. I said I fell and that's all." Juliet sobbed into her hands. Frank stood up and turned away. "I wish mom was here." Juliet mumbled. Frank spun around and looked at her furiously.
"What did you just say?" he asked. Juliet shook her head and sobbed harder. "Tell me what you said!" Frank yelled. Juliet jumped at the change in tone and backed away from him.
"I just said that I wanted mom to be here." Juliet shook. Frank grabbed her arm and stood her up. He tightened his grip, cutting off her circulation.
"Your mother was a bitch. She didn't deserve to be alive, she killed herself because she couldn't handle the world and now I'm left to deal with you." He spat at her. Juliet whimpered.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Juliet tried to pull away from his tightening grip. He looked at her for a second, while Juliet tried to pull away from him. "Let me go!" Juliet screamed as loud as she could. Ewan ran into the room, Frank not noticing.
Frank's eyes burned with fury, "You do not tell your father what to do!" he yelled, pulling his hand back and slapping the side of her head with stitches. Juliet screamed and cried as loud as she could. He let go of her arm and turned around to see Ewan. Ewan was stunned and he had tears streaming down his face. Frank's face flushed to a pale red. "Get in your room, Ewan."
Juliet continued to scream and cry. She slammed her door shut and locked it. Juliet ignored Frank furiously knocking on the door. She got into her bed and curled into a ball, letting tears make a pool around her. She vowed that the next time Mr. Hugh came, she would tell him the truth and then, the next day, before they got her, she would run away.
Henry Spencer packed the last few things he would need for his one week trip to Miami. Shawn was waiting at the door for Henry to bring him to his mom's house. "Dad, hurry up." Shawn groaned. Henry smiled.
"Alright, I'm ready." Henry sighed. He picked up his suitcase and rolled it outside to the car. Shawn climbed into the car while Henry threw the suitcase in the trunk. He got into his car and began driving to Maddie's house.
When they arrived, Shawn quickly got out of the car, waving to his dad. "Be good, son!" Henry called as Shawn ran inside. He pulled out of the driveway and drove to the airport.
The next day, Juliet still hadn't unlocked her bedroom door. She and Ewan had passed notes under the door while their dad slept. He passed a few almonds and candy bars under the door for her to eat. She had already finished all of the food and her dad began banging on the door again.
"Juliet, if you don't open this door, I will break it down and whoop you." Frank threatened.
Juliet slowly walked towards the door and unlocked it. She quickly ran to the other side of her room and cowered in the corner. Frank threw open the door. His face was red with anger. Frank ran to her and pushed her farther into the wall.
"HELP!" Juliet screamed. Frank kicked her legs making her fall sideways. He pulled up his foot and stomped on her chest. "Ewan help!" Juliet called through the tears in her voice.
Ewan ran into the room. "Dad, please stop!" he yelled, tears streaming down his face. Frank stopped stomping on her and turned to Ewan. Juliet quickly stood up, ignoring the sharp pain in her ribs. She ran to her bed and sat on it, screaming. Frank pushed Ewan out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Juliet screamed and screamed, hoping the neighbors would hear. She wished that she could call the police but didn't have a phone.
At least the social worker would be here tomorrow.
The plane landed in Miami and Henry walked off the plane. His Chief was waiting for him in the outside of security. Henry smiled and shook his chief's hand. "How are you, Henry? Are you ready to investigate?" The chief asked.
Henry nodded. "I'm great." He replied. They walked out to the Chief's car and drove to the Miami Police Department. They walked in and saw the Chief of that department.
"Hello, Chief Rosen." Henry's Chief greeted.
"Hello, you two." The woman replied. "I understand that you are here to investigate a case for us?" she clarified. Henry nodded. "Alright, let's get down to business."
The next day, Juliet looked around in her closet for a backpack big enough to hold anything that she needed. She found her princess backpack that she used for school and brought it out of her closet. What will I need? Juliet pondered, looking around her room. She first, thought of food and walked out to the kitchen. She grabbed granola bars, candy, fruit cups, applesauce, a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. Stuffing it into her bag, she quickly ran into her room looking around the room. I'll need money, so I can buy a house. Juliet thought. Her mom always told her that she had enough money in her piggy bank to buy a house, so she stuffed it into her backpack. Now she would need some clothes, she grabbed her favorite dresses and outfits and stuffed them into the last bit of room in her backpack. Finally, she shoved her backpack under her bed and walked out to the living room where Frank was waiting for the social worker to arrive.
Frank grabbed her face, "Same rules apply. Do you understand me?" Frank asked sternly. Juliet nodded slowly, trying to get away from her former dad.
At exactly 9:00 AM, there was a knock at the door. Frank answered it and was greeted by Mr. Hugh. He crouched down and greeted Juliet. "Hi there, Juliet. I brought you something." Mr. Hugh handed her a small stuffed cat. Juliet smiled and said thank you. She brought it into her room and set it on her nightstand. Mr. High walked into her room and smiled. "Are you in the mood to talk today?" he asked. Juliet nodded, trying not to look too excited.
"Okay, let me ask you again, how'd you get that?" he pointed to her head.
Juliet took a deep breath. "My dad." She breathed softly. Mr. Hugh's eyes widened. "But he told me not to say anything or else he'd hurt me, real bad." Juliet felt her heartbeat speed up.
"Does your dad always hit you?" he asked, gently.
Juliet shrugged, "Last night he stomped on my tummy." Juliet pulled up her shirt to reveal a purple bruise on her stomach. Mr. Hugh gasped quietly, writing something down on his notepad. "But, you can't tell him I told you!" Juliet whispered. Mr. Hugh made a face like he was thinking really hard.
"I'll tell you what, we tell your daddy that everything is okay, then, tomorrow at around 8:00 AM, when you see my car, you run outside. That way your daddy can't hurt you." He suggested. Juliet nodded quickly.
"Will you take Ewan with you?" Juliet asked. Mr. Hugh nodded. He stood up and gave Juliet a hug.
"I'll see you tomorrow." he said with a wink. Juliet nodded and followed him out to the living room. Frank sat on the couch. "Alright Frank, the living conditions in this house are perfect. Just tell this one to be a bit more careful." He shot a wink at her. Juliet smiled and walked into her room as the man left.
Ewan looked at Juliet. She signaled for him to follow her into her room.
"Ewan, I told Mr. Hugh. Tomorrow, when you see his car outside at 8:00 AM, you have to run outside and get in his car. That way dad won't hurt you. Okay?" Juliet explained. Ewan nodded slowly. "But, I'm not coming. I'm running away." Juliet blurted out. Ewan's eyes widened.
"Why are you doing that?" he asked.
Juliet sighed, "I don't want to live with Grandma. I want a new mommy." She said. Ewan looked at her silently.
He wanted to live with his sister. "Can I come with you?" he asked. Juliet thought for a second.
"I'm leaving now and I only got enough stuff for myself. Plus, you gotta get in the car and tell them that I ran away." Juliet explained. Ewan nodded.
"Okay, but when were grown-ups we have to meet each other and talk about what happened." Ewan said. Juliet agreed and grabbed her backpack from under the bed.
"Go distract dad." Juliet commanded. She pulled the heavy backpack over her shoulders. She looked at the stuffed cat on her nightstand. It was the only toy she'd been given in a long time. She contemplated about bringing it with her. After a few seconds, she grabbed the kitty and opened the window. Juliet stepped out of the window and began running from her house. She didn't want her dad to see her so she ran as fast as possible. Tears streamed down her face as all of the pain of before left her and stayed in the past. Her heart was broken beyond repair and only one person did that to her, but now, he was gone. That stupid motto would never be in her language again. Now, she could cry when she wanted; she was free.
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